


Take me for a spin

by itsallAvengers



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Crack, Driving, First Kiss, Fluff, Inadvisable Driving Because Tony Has No Impulse Control, M/M, Meet-Cute, Oblivious Steve Rogers, Pining Tony Stark, Stupid Boys, Tony Has The Worst Timing, Tony Leave Poor Officer Rogers Alone, Tony Stark Does What He Wants
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-12
Updated: 2018-05-12
Packaged: 2019-05-05 22:09:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14628033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsallAvengers/pseuds/itsallAvengers
Summary: He's got a new car, and it's afastnew car, and fuck it, Tony just wants to try it out. But then, of course, some stupid cop has to pull him over and ruin everything.He's pissed. Until he's not.(Au in which Tony Stark is Tony Stark, and Steve Rogers is a cop on the worst shift of the night)





	Take me for a spin

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fd1922](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fd1922/gifts).



> for @fd1922 on tumblr, who asked:  
>  _Steve is a Police Officer and pulls Tony over for speeding. Tony has no luck charming or bribing him and swears to make Steves life hell to giving him a ticket, however nothing works as he plans._

Tony had to admit, he probably hadn’t thought this through.

 

It was late. The roads were empty. And _come on_ , he’d just finished touching up the sports car he’d been painstakingly hyperfixating on for God only knows how long. That thing was his baby. He _loved_ his car. He’d missed business meetings and weapons demonstrations and charity galas and _sex_ in order to finish this car- that was how serious he’d been about it. And when it had been finished, his first thought had simply been ‘how fast will this thing go?’

And, y’know- the empty roads that winded around the coastline next to his house were _right there._ In his mind, the idea of taking it all the way to some racetrack for testing was just stupid.

Except for the fact that racetracks tended not to have cops that would chase after you if you started going fifty-odd miles over the speeding limit. That… probably should have been something he had taken into consideration, really.

He flicked his eyes up to the mirror and frowned as the motorbike with the flashing blue lights tried to catch up with him. Tony glanced down at the dash to see- whoa, okay, yeah, perhaps 110 mph was a _little_ bit speedy. He was pretty sure the limit on this road was like, 65.

Whoops.

What cops waited around on empty roads like this one anyway? At 4:56 in the God Damned morning? Come on, this was hardly Tony’s fault.

Groaning in annoyance, he put his foot on the break as slowed himself down. Not that he couldn’t just pay the fine with the spare change in his pocket right there and then, but the cop might talk about removing his license or something, and then he’d have to jump through all these damn hoops and he really couldn’t be bothered with that at 5 in the morning.

 

Well. 110 wasn’t _that_ bad, really. And Tony had charmed his way out of worse.

 

Pulling over, Tony shut his eyes and sighed as he leaned back against the headrest. He hoped it was a woman. Power of averages usually meant that women were easier to flirt with, and he could use a little bit of luck right about n-

The motorbike pulled up behind him, and Tony could see immediately that nope, today there would be no luck for him. That was a guy. That was… a built guy, damn, Tony could see that from all the way back in his damn car.

The man dismounted effortlessly from his bike, and Tony watched as he pulled off his helmet and let it rest on the seat.  
The only thought that really popped into his mind after that was ‘wow’.

Adonis-Cop marched over, his back straight, his blonde hair sticking up at all angles from the helmet he’d previously had on, and Tony simply watched him through the rear-view mirror, mouth going dry. Okay, yeah, he was definitely changing his mind- he had to thank whatever God was watching him right then and there that this was not a woman, and was, in fact, a hunky 6-foot _beauty_. Holy shit. Tony didn’t think he’d ever seen someone so attractive in his life. And that was saying something; he worked alongside Pepper Potts.

He refrained the urge to rev up the engine as Adonis-Cop made his way over to the driver’s seat. That would be crass.

Tony rolled down the window and looked up, smiling at Adonis-Cop with his white teeth. He’d shaved earlier that night, too, so at least he didn’t look scruffy. “Well hello, Offic-“

“Do you know how fast you’re going, sir?” Adonis-Cop cut in swiftly, arms folded, entirely unimpressed in front of him.

Tony stopped, glancing at his dash and then looking back up with another smile. “Well right now, Officer, I’m currently at zero.”

The cop didn’t even blink, but the look on his face made Tony certain that he was going to be one tough nut to crack. Tony couldn’t even blame him- anyone out at this time on the worst most boring shift in the whole world would undoubtedly be in a pissy mood. Tony would be lucky to get anything out of this at all except a hefty fine and some points added to his damned license, _again_.

“That was over 100 miles an hour back there,” Adonis-Cop waved down the road and then turned back, a dry look on his face. “The limit is 65.”

“Oh, my bad.” He shrugged and then shot the Greek God-like cop a quick once over. “What’s your name then, handsome?” He chose wisely to ignore the cop’s previous statements as he tapped his fingers against the wheel and grinned. “And how, may I ask, have I never seen you in these parts before?”

The cop looked at him, jaw clenching. “Rogers, sir. Officer Rogers. And I don’t see why you _would_ be seeing me, unless you’re used to getting stopped by cops on a regular basis?” Rogers raised an eyebrow and hummed.

Tony was about to open his mouth and respond when something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. Behind Rogers was his bike; the ugly yellow painting that signified he was a cop standing out like an eyesore against the craggy roadside. It seemed fine to the average eye- but Tony was no average eye, and his brow creased as he zoned in on the machine.

A second later, he opened the door and stepped outside, neatly sidestepping Officer Adonis and shuffling toward the bike. Rogers turned with him, and Tony guessed there was a slightly confused look on his face. “Uh- sir-“

“Please, call me Tony,” he crouched down next to the bike and trailed his fingers across the metalwork. “I hate being called sir.”

“Okay then, Tony, I’m going to have to ask you to step away from th-“

“Did you know you’ve got a part of the exoskeleton just hanging off up here?” Tony gestured to a piece toward the back of the bike, around where Rogers’ feet would usually sit, and frowned in concern. It was slightly elevated away from the rest of the bike, and when Tony pressed against it, it creaked back into place before falling down again once his fingers left.

Rogers spluttered a little bit, and then when Tony turned to him, he noticed his cheeks had turned a little pink under the half-light of dawn. “I- Sir, Tony, that is none of your concern, I think we should focus on the matter at hand here-“

“Uh, the matter of hand here is that if you turned too sharp and this hit the concrete, you’re dead, buddy.” Tony shot him an incredulous look. “Why haven’t you gone to get this fixed?”

There was the sound of shuffling feet, and then Tony watched Rogers’ enormous shoulders shrug up and down. “I… uh, I’ve already broken two other bikes. Precinct said if I did it again I’d be paying out of my own wage. Can’t exactly… afford that. It’s fine. I make sure to be careful around bends.”

Tony gaped at him, and then scoffed. “Well, that’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever fucking heard.” He stood back up and then marched forward, pulling open the door of his car and then slipping in before looking back up to a thoroughly bewildered Rogers. “Come on. You’re coming with me.”

Rogers blinked. “No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are.”

“No, Tony, I am not. I need to give you your ticket and you need to be on your way-“

“You can give me the damn ticket back at my place, but for now, I’m telling you to come with me so I can sort out your bike before you fall off and die.” He fluttered his eyelashes dramatically and tilted his head. “Pretty please with a cherry on top?”

Rogers just huffed incredulously. “Sir, I like to make a point not to drive home with strangers who I’ve just had to give speeding tickets to.”

Tony watched him for a moment before it clicked into place and his eyes widened in shock. “You don’t know who I am, do you,” he stated blankly.

Rogers seemed almost amused by that, cocking his head and holding back a smile. “Should I?” He asked.

Tony paused for a moment, and then in answer, he pulled out his wallet from the back of his pocket and handed over his license to Rogers, before turning back and staring out into the road. He waited the two seconds it took for things to suddenly click in Rogers’ mind, and then he heard the audible gasp and muttered curse from outside the car.

“Tony Stark,” Rogers read out dumbly, “uh… oh. You’re the… the genius guy. The one on the news all the time. Oh.”

Tony turned his head back around, smiling as brightly as he could. “Am I allowed to fix your bike and possibly save your life now, Officer Rogers?” He asked.

The man opened and shut his mouth like a goldfish for a few seconds, before looking back to his bike. “I can’t afford it, I already-“

“What, you think I’m gonna charge for this? It’ll take me like, two seconds. And if you hadn’t already gathered, I’m kind of rich as fuck. It’s fine. Freebie.”

Rogers frowned as if that was just a little too good to be true. Tony figured it probably was pretty unusual, not the usual kind of scenario Officer Rogers would be having to deal with on his nightly shift.

Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity of contemplation from the other man, Rogers threw up his hands in surrender. “Fuck it. Alright. I’m still fining you for speeding though, alright? This isn’t like, bribery. I’m just letting you do me a favor.”

“Don’t worry, your morality is still intact,” Tony rolled his eyes and slid a hand through his hair, gesturing to the motorcycle. “Just drive behind me until we get back to my place- and please, no sharp turns.”

“If you don’t speed, then we have a deal.”

Tony flashed a grin, turning back to the road and then revving up the engine like he’d wanted to do at the very start. “No promises, darling.”

 

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

 

He ended up sticking to the speed limits, if only to stop Rogers from following him and then crashing his faulty fucking bike. He got the feeling that the man would be petty enough to try it, even if it meant his death. Officer Rogers just seemed to radiate that sort of pettiness.

They pulled up to his mansion ten minutes later, and Tony got to watch as Rogers took off his helmet and released that floppy hair all over his face again. It truly was a wonderful sight to behold.

Rogers looked at him, shuffling a little awkwardly on his feet. “This is a… big place,” he stated in the end, looking up at the grand architecture with something akin to awe on his face.

Tony grinned, slipping out of the car. “Sure is,” he said airily, “gotta fit my big personality in there.”

“Yeah, I can imagine,” Rogers said, a wry note to his voice. Tony glanced at him once, before shaking his head and then walking over to the bike. He got down on his haunches again, stroking the machine gently.

“What’s the nasty cop done to you then, hmm?” Tony asked it softly, whilst Rogers just snorted up above. “Don’t worry baby, I’ll get you fixed in no time.” He looked up, and then glanced at the keys in Rogers’ hand. “I can ride it over to the transport deck and then you can just wait up in the lounge area if you want. Shouldn’t take more than half an hour-“

“I’d rather be there if you don’t mind,” Rogers told him with an air that spoke of no argument. Seemed he was still a little bit tense about the whole thing. “I can ride it over, don’t worry.”

Tony just shrugged, gesturing the way. Rogers mounted swiftly, and Tony got a lovely view of the rather perfectly formed ass of his as he went, which was certainly a plus. They both made their way down to Tony’s garage where he kept all his tools, and as soon as Tony got inside, he instantly shucked off his jacket, knowing he would probably ruin it completely if he kept it on for a moment more. He clapped his hands once, and all the lights in the room flickered on. Rogers turned in surprise, and that look of awe was back on his face as he stared around the room at all the fancy cars and shining equipment that surrounded them. Tony hid a grin- nothing better than showing off to a pretty blond. And really, officer Rogers was the prettiest blond Tony had seen in a long time.

“Get comfy,” Tony gestured to the couch in the corner of the room, “entertain yourself for a while.”

“What are you gonna do with it?” Rogers asked, walking over to his bike with curiosity instead of the couch.

Tony made a vague gesture. “Solder it back up, nothing much. Looks like your suspension is a little worn-out too, so I might have a mess around with that.” He turned to Steve and shot him a little wink. “If this doesn’t get me out of points on my license, I really do not know what will.”

Rogers huffed and rolled his eyes. “Make no promises, Stark.”

“Ah, well that wasn’t a no, was it?” Tony tilted his head and then turned around to the bike, sitting down on his ass with his legs crossed. He glanced behind and spotted Rogers smiling at his back, face somewhat incredulous.

He settled down into his work, vaguely aware that Rogers was on a stool behind him, fiddling with a pen and paper on the desk as he watched Tony work.

“This feels kinda surreal,” Rogers admitted after a while, and Tony laughed a little as he wrenched a bolt into place. “And also wildly unprofessional.”

Tony shrugged. “It’s a shit job anyway.”

“I…” Steve audibly sighed. “Yeah, it’s true. You’re the first person I’ve ever seen on that highway since I got the damned job.”

Tony paused, looking toward Rogers pityingly. The man just shrugged, and his smile was a little weary. “Something’s gotta pay for my apartment, Mr. Stark. The early morning shift on a road no one even drives down just happens to be the thing that’ll get me the money.”

 _I’ll pay it,_ Tony almost said for a moment; a throwaway comment in the back of his mind. He didn’t, of course- he hadn’t even known Rogers for more than an hour and he already knew there was no way the man would take it. Far too prideful for that. Plus, Pepper had warned him that doing things like that tended to freak normal people out, and that wasn’t exactly what he wanted here. He’d moved on past charming himself out of a ticket to downright wooing techniques here, ever since he’d seen Rogers smile. It was a very, very nice smile. Tony wanted to see it more.

“My name’s Steve, by the way,” Rogers- well, Tony supposed it was Steve now- told him after a moment of silence. “Figured I should probably be on first-name basis with you now, seeing as you’re doing this for me.”

Tony waved a hand. “No problem, Ro- Steve. I could do this in my sleep, honestly.”

Steve chuckled, fiddling at the hem of his uniform. His damn shoulders could barely even fit into the thing, and Tony could see the buttons stretching around his chest. It should just look ridiculous, but it most certainly did not. Tony wanted to rip the damn thing right off him.

Maybe he’d keep the hat on, though.

Some time passed before he noticed Steve moving around the garage, and as he turned his head to check what he was doing, he saw the man looking down at the car that Tony had been speeding around in that night. His eyes were curious, and he had a face like that of a child in a candy shop. Tony got the feeling that Steve Rogers rarely got see expensive cars like that.

“What make is this?” Steve asked after a second, when he realized Tony was looking. “It’s stunning. I’ve never seen it before.”

“That’s because it’s not on the market,” Tony spun around and grinned, unable to stop the flutter of pride. “It’s mine. I built it.”

Steve’s eyes widened. “You’re joking. Seriously? All of it?”

“All of it.”

Pale fingers brushed over the dark purple paintwork delicately. “Wow,” Steve breathed, turning to him. “That’s amazing.”

Tony couldn’t help but preen, and he sat up a little straighter. “Zero to sixty in 1.9 seconds,” he winked again at Steve’s sharp exhale. “You see why I wanted to give her a spin as soon as I could?”

“You’re bullshitting,” Steve shook his head firmly. “No way. Fastest car in the world can’t even get that far.”

“Well darling, that’s not the fastest car in the world any more, is it?” Tony leaned forward on his elbows and grinned wolfishly, feeding off Steve’s disbelief. So sue him, he was a bit of an attention whore when it came to impressing people of the likes of Mr. Adonis Rogers. “Anyway, Bugatti bought blueprints for the engine they used off Stark Industries, AKA myself, anyway. So technically, I was just breaking my own record.”

Steve said nothing, but then he laughed somewhat hysterically. “I cannot believe this is happening to me at-” he glanced down at his watch, “-six in the morning. I feel as if I might be dreaming.”

Tony turned back to the motorbike, a smile on his face. “I’ll let you ride it if you agree to drop the speeding ticket.”

That brought on a longer pause, and Tony almost thought he’d got it, but then Steve scoffed. “No chance, Stark.”

Tony just laughed. Stubborn fucking bastard.

 

They talked through the rest of the night (or, Tony supposed, early morning), and next time Tony looked up, the morning sun was filtering through the basement windows. He blinked, looking down at the motorbike under his hands. He’d fixed up the loose attachment in the first twenty minutes- since then he’d just been tinkering and making upgrades as he talked to Steve.

Huh. He wasn’t sure when the last time had been that he’d managed to talk to someone that long, with barely a pause.

 

“Done,” he clapped his hands and shook the thought from his head, looking over to Steve who was now lounging over the desk and stroking the pencil over a pad of paper absently. He had beautiful hands, Tony noted. Agile. Strong. And _God_ , the man’s biceps were probably bigger than Tony’s entire head. He really was… beautiful.

“Great!” Steve beamed at him, sitting up straighter, and Tony blinked as he snapped back into focus. Don’t think about Steve’s biceps. Don’t think about Steve’s biceps. Don’t think about Steve’s biceps. “Thank you, Tony. Really, this was great of you. I really appreciate it.”

Tony watched Steve as he inspected the bike in curiosity, his hands moving over the bike fondly. Steve probably wouldn’t notice any of the other modifications until he actually rode the thing, and so Tony kept his mouth shut about it. He preferred surprising him.

They brought the thing out from the garage, still chatting as they went. By that time, the sun was up and sending golden bursts of light over Steve’s face, his hair. He glowed under the sunbeams. His eyes were like oceans.

Oh God, since when had Tony become Shakespeare? This was just embarrassing.

“Well, I should probably get going,” Steve gestured awkwardly toward the gates of Tony’s mansion. “Thank you again. You did me a really big favour there. Oh, and before I forget-“ he shuffled around in his pockets, before pulling out the ticket pad with a wry smile.

Tony’s face fell, and he sighed loudly. “Really? After everything we’ve been through, Steven?”

“This was always the deal.”

“Oh, come on, I cannot believe-“

“ _110_ miles per hour, Tony. _110_. I have to do my job, unfortunately. I’m sure you’ll be able to scrape together the funds.” Steve shot him a dry look and then glanced over to Tony’s larger than life mansion, before breaking out into a small smile and then tearing off the ticket, holding it out for Tony to take with a look on his face that was far too smug for his liking.

Tony glared at him for a moment, before pinching the paper between two fingers and snatching it down, glaring at it mutinously. “I’m very offended at this betrayal,” he declared sulkily.

Steve beamed at him. Tony ended up grinning back. Damn it.

“Don’t let me catch you at that speed again, you hear me?” Steve called out behind him, mounting the bike once more and slipping the helmet onto his head. Tony folded his arms and watched him.

“You’re not the boss of me.”

“I mean- I _could_ get you arrested, so _technically_ -“

“Alright, alright, don’t pull me up on technicalities, I’ve been awake for two days.” Tony waved him off with a huff, catching the man’s blue eyes through the visor and tamping down a smile. He opened his mouth, trying to figure out the right way to ask the officer who had ticketed him for speeding if he wanted to go get coffee sometime- somehow it felt harder than just asking your average Joe, really. Plus, he didn’t even know if Steve swung that way. He’d been getting that vibe, maybe, but that wasn’t exactly conclusive proof, and Tony didn’t really fancy getting rejected by what was probably the hottest and strangely genuine man he’d ever met in his entire life-

Of course, he was so lost in thought that by the time he managed to snap out of it and just ask, Steve was already revving up the engine and looking back down Tony’s driveway.

“Thanks for everything, Tony! Stay safe on the roads!” Steve called, waving a hand- and then he was gone, zooming down the concrete in what Tony was _certain_ was over the speed limit.

Bastard.

He watched Officer Steve Rogers’ back as it disappeared around the corner, mouth still half-open with words he’d never been able to speak, and felt himself deflate a little. Not that he’d really been expecting anything from that, but…

Well. He’d had a nice night, that was all.

 

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

 

It was three days later until Tony had his idea.

 

Halfway through a mouthful of lucky charms he’d been eating directly from the box, he inhaled sharply and then shot a look off to the clock on the counter. 4:13 am. Insomnia was being a bitch again- but in this one instance, it may just have been his silver lining.

“JARVIS, I’m going out,” Tony declared, jumping off the counter and brushing crumbs from his shirt.

“Of course you are, Sir,” JARVIS answered, somewhat despairingly. “May I ask what the nature of this trip is?”

“True love.”

“That _does_ make perfect sense. Will I need to have the Emergency Services on standby?”

Tony paused, before thinking it over and shrugging. “I don’t think so. I am merely going to do my best at wooing a particularly sarcastic Police officer who booked me for speeding a few days ago.”

“In that case, I wish you the best of luck, sir,” JARVIS told him, before adding in a quieter tone, “and will inform the fire services that something may possibly explode.”

Tony looked at the security camera, unimpressed. If JARVIS had a human body, he would’ve shrugged. “I am simply thinking ahead. Your track record with ‘wooing’ people has been almost comically disastrous so far.”

“Shut up, you stupid robot,” Tony groused, grabbing his keys and sticking his middle finger up into the empty room. JARVIS may have had a point there, but that didn’t mean that he had to _say it._

Anyway. This time was going to be different. Tony was going to woo the _fuck_ out of Officer Steve Rogers.

 

Slipping into the car that had got him into this mess in the first place, Tony sped out of the gates and onto the road, fingers tapping against the wheel as he drove. It was a bit earlier than it had been the first time, but Tony figured he could just spend some time going back and forth down the highway if he had to.

He kept his eyes peeled as he drove, this time making sure to keep just slightly over the speed limit as he went. No need to piss Steve off further, after all. And this time, he wouldn’t be able to soften him up by fixing his bike. That piece of machinery probably wouldn’t need fixing for the next ten years now that Tony had messed around with it.

What could he say? He never did things by halves.

Turning the corner, he spun onto the road that followed the edge of the cliffs and couldn’t help but grin to himself as he felt the power in the engine. He fucking loved cars- he’d always wanted to work in a garage when he’d been a kid. There was just something intrinsically thrilling about them.

He wanted Steve in this car. Now _that_ would be a thing of true beauty.

The powerful headlights lit the way for him, and he checked out his reflection in the rear-view mirror as he cut through the terrain. He’d gotten back from a late-night meeting a few hours earlier, so he was still in a semi-decent state. Small coffee stain on his chest, but that would probably go unnoticed, right? Unless Steve was observant, which he probably was, because, y’know, _cop_ \- should he go back and change? Was Steve going to think he was a clumsy unhygienic idiot if he didn’t? God, the shirt wasn’t even nice anyway, who the hell even wore Armani these days-

He spotted a yellow and blue motorcycle come into view under his headlights, and quickly slowed down before Steve caught him. Honest to God, he hadn’t even been that far above the limit that time- just been a bit tied up in his own thoughts.

With a sly grin, he pressed down on the horn and then watched Steve jump wildly up ahead, head turning to face the sound of the noise. He was lit up by the lights for a moment before Tony braked rapidly and then ground to a halt directly in front of Steve.

The look on the other man’s face was priceless.

“Hey, Officer,” Tony cocked his head and shot Steve a once-over. “Fancy seeing you again.”

“Tony,” Steve said his name dumbly, before blinking a few times and then huffing in surprise. “What are you- why-“

“I was bored,” Tony shrugged absently, pulling off the road and then cutting the engine. “Figured no one else would be awake at such a ridiculous time other than my favorite police officer.”

“I- I gave you a speeding ticket and made you fix my bike at 6 in the morning.”

Tony just rolled his eyes, slipping out of the car and then brushing against Steve’s shoulder as he hopped onto the hood of his car. Steve’s hand half went out as if to stop him before he caught himself and just curled it into a fist. Tony grinned. “Worried about the paintwork?”

“That paintwork probably costs more than my whole apartment, so yes, you could say I am,” Steve told him, leaning back on his bike in a way that made Tony’s mouth go dry. Oblivious to that fact, Steve simply grinned, looking over to Tony in amusement. “What are you really doing here, Tony? Trying to land yourself another ticket?”

Tony lay back on the hood, hands pillowing behind his head as he gazed up at the stars. “I wanted to see you again,” he admitted bluntly, “you interest me.”

“Is that so?” Steve asked him, voice sounding as if he was simply humoring Tony. “Because yeah, I am definitely one of the most interesting things you could be engaging with in Malibu.”

Tony looked up at him. “Pretty much, yeah,” he shrugged, flopping back down. “You make me laugh. And you didn’t take my bullshit. Kinda dig that, not gonna lie.”

He watched Steve shake his head and smile, looking away. When he rested his hands behind him and on the bike, Tony watched his muscles tense with a riveting sort of fascination. God, Tony wasn’t even sure what he was doing- it was almost impossible that someone like Steve wasn’t already taken. The notion of Tony even having a shot was just ridiculous.

Ah, well. Tony was going to try anyway.

“What’s your favorite color?” He asked when the silence got a little too long, and Steve turned to him with a small frown, thrown by the randomness of the question.

“Orange,” he said slowly.

“Why?”

Steve turned his head and looked toward the horizon, where the first few rays of light were just beginning to wake the world around them. “I love the sunlight,” he said simply. “It’s the most beautiful thing in the world that is available to the masses, for free, every day.”

Tony couldn’t say he’d ever thought about it like that. Sun was just that star thing that told him it was time to get some fucking sleep. But he liked how Steve put it. “What about your favorite number?”

Steve turned to him, half amused, half confused. “Why are we playing twenty questions?”

Tony sat up, rubbing absently at the coffee stain on his chest. When he looked up, Steve was staring at him. “I want to get to know you,” Tony told him simply.

A small crease popped up on Steve’s face, before smoothing out into a bashful smile. “Eight,” he said, “my favorite number is eight.”

“Favourite food?”

“Street Vendor corndogs.”

“God, I knew you were a New Yorker!” Tony pointed a finger accusingly and Steve laughed, “absolutely no one except New Yorkers would ever say that, ever.”

Steve’s laugh was lovely. Tony wanted to record the thing and then just listen to it, or bottle it and then keep it on his desk or something equally ridiculous. Over the course of their conversation, he got to hear that laugh a handful more times, and each time it just seemed to get better and better. As time went on, Tony noticed that the way Steve moved was entrancing as well- he was huge, but fluid. Almost graceful. And his _hands_ , God, Tony couldn’t stop looking at them, he was pretty sure he was developing an obsession. As Steve moved them up to run through his hair, Tony caught a fleck of something purple crawling around his thumb. There was some green too, just under his cuff.

“You paint,” Tony blurted in surprise and then watched as Steve paused, looking at Tony in surprise. In response, Tony gestured to his wrist. “You’ve… there’s paint on your hands.”

Steve looked down and then rubbed at the marks. “Oh,” he said slowly, “yeah. Yeah, when I can afford to.”

Tony watched him; the way his face clouded over for just a moment before he hid it away again and smiled. Tony guessed that Steve rarely got around to affording it. There was a reason he took this boring shift, after all.

“You should meet Pepper,” he said firmly, “she’s an art freak too. She’d love to have someone to gossip about it with. Gotta admit, it goes right over my head, but I’m sure I’d love whatever you drew anyway.”

Steve smiled and looked down, adorably bashful. God, it was slightly concerning how fast Tony was swooning over that. “I’d like that,” he murmured, “you- y’know, seeing it. If you want.”

Tony smiled, his heart ratcheting up a few beats. That was definitely an opening. That right there was _definitely_ an opening, and Tony needed to take that, right now-

 

At that moment, a car rounded the corner revving loudly, and way over the speed limit.

 

Of fucking course.

 

Steve jerked his head up, and then a second later he was stumbling onto his bike, ramming the helmet onto his head. “Sorry, gotta go!” He yelled, before kicking off the brake and turning onto the road after him, lights flashing.

Tony watched him, bemused as he rode off after the poor speeder. Well- that had been a very abrupt ending to what had almost been a date. He huffed in annoyance and kicked a rock that was too near to his foot. It didn’t really help vent his frustrations much.

With a small sigh, Tony checked his watch. 6am. He’d been talking to Steve for two hours, again. And he still hadn’t ballsed up and just asked the guy on a goddamn date.

 

“Next time,” he hissed to himself, sliding back into his car and pouting at his reflection in the mirror. “Next time, Stark, you hear?”

 

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

 

Steve hadn’t shown up the next day when Tony drove down.

Obviously, it hadn’t been guaranteed that he would. But Tony had been sort of expecting to be able to ask him, and so he’d stayed up all night preparing, and then when no Steve had appeared, he could admit he’d been a little disappointed.

But no matter, Tony thought as he drove home at seven that morning, rubbing his eyes tiredly. There was always tomorrow.

So he went home. Didn’t get more than an hour’s sleep, mind you- too busy working on projects and thinking about how best to ask Steve for coffee in a way that didn’t sound ridiculous. It was surprisingly difficult. He just… he really didn’t want to mess this up before anything could even begin. He really liked Steve. Like… _really_ liked him. It was weird. Tony didn’t usually feel this strongly toward people he had only met a handful of times. But there was just something about the guy- like Tony had said earlier, he didn’t take any of Tony’s bullshit. He was genuine. Kind. Funny, but in a way that you would easily miss if you didn’t look hard enough.

It had been less than a goddamn week, and Tony was smitten.

Fuck.

He sighed, knocking his head against the desk and shutting his eyes. He could feel a headache forming behind his eyes from the lack of sleep, and he could barely focus on any of the work in front of him. Pepper would probably kill him when she next saw him. That was, if he didn’t die of blue balls first.

“May I point out that it has been 68 hours since your last proper rest, and in that period of time you have yet to consume a product that is not coffee or Twinkies, Sir,” his AI spoke up above him, his voice calmly exasperated. Like he always did, Tony felt himself taken back to his childhood; to the real Jarvis, who’d taken exactly the same tone with him when he’d been pulling shit like this back then. It brought a wave of soothing fondness over him and he smiled against the tabletop, pushing himself back up.

“Coffee and Twinkies have all the nutrients my body requires, J.”

“I’m afraid to tell you that you are absolutely incorrect.”

“You don’t know my body, JARV- I am a temple of health, of knowledge-“

“With your best interests at heart, Sir, I must say your body is more akin to a wasting pile of garbage than a temple of health right now.”

Tony stopped, and then shot off a dirty look to the security camera. “You are the worst, most unsupportive Robot ever.”

“Merely trying to keep you alive, sir,” JARVIS replied primly, and Tony just huffed, rolling his eyes. He was being bullied by his own AI- this was really what his life had come to. Being called a pile of human garbage by your own supercomputer. This really was a new low.

He leaned back and stretched like a cat, feeling the vertebrae pop in his spine. He’d been hunched over the desk for far too long, he needed to get out. Go for another spin or something- maybe just drive by the road Steve worked on, just to check. Plus he’d tweaked the engine a tad whilst he’d been sulking, and so he might have even shaved off a little bit of the pretty much non-existent lag. Had to test that out, right?

“Okay, I’m going out,” Tony declared to the empty room, getting to his feet clumsily and grabbing his keys from the desk, “don’t wait up, JARV.”

“Sir, are you really sure that it is a good idea for you to be in control of the wheel right now?” JARVIS asked him in exasperation. “You run the risk of falling asleep on the road-“

“I have never in my _life_ fallen asleep behind the wheel,” Tony held up a finger pointedly, “except from one time, and it was barely even a car. It was a dodgem, and I was slightly intoxicated at a fair-“

“-Heavily inebriated at a children’s party, you mean?”

Tony glared. “You are the worst. I told you not to mention that day. And it _wasn’t_ a children’s…” He shook his head and turned on his heel. “You know what, never mind. I do not have time for this. I need to leave and find the official love of my life, Officer Steve Rogers.” He lifted his chin haughtily and stalked out of the workshop, keys clutched in his hand. If JARVIS could have rolled his eyes, Tony knew he would’ve. It was the reason he hadn’t built a body for the asshole- he wasn’t sure he could bear that level of sarcasm thrown his way on a daily basis.

Jumping up the steps two at a time, he checked out his appearance in the reflective chrome surface and pulled a face. He could probably do with brushing his hair. And putting on socks.

Ah, well. He was sure Steve wouldn’t mind, right?

He jumped into the car without a second thought, rubbing his eyes and then slapping his cheeks a few time. He had to be on top form if he wanted to woo Steve. Steve deserved a quality wooing.

 _Fuck_ , he was tired.

He shook his head and tried not to think about how it probably wasn’t a good idea to try seducing a cop whilst severely sleep deprived. He was Tony Stark- he could _totally_ seduce a cop whilst sleep deprived. It would be fine. And Steve liked him- Tony was pretty much sure of it. It’d be a piece of cake.

Without a second thought, he put the keys in ignition and then revved the engine, pulling out of his drive and into the night.

 

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

 

He’d been driving for ten minutes, and he could already feel his eyelids start to droop.

 

Whoops.

 

Sighing heavily, he turned on the overhead lights and put the music on blast in an attempt to attack his senses enough to keep him conscious. But when that failed to help, he admitted defeat and pulled over with a loud groan.

Great. Now he was going to miss Steve, _again_.

He was still a mile or so away from where Steve was usually stationed. Tony would miss him; too busy napping on the side of the damn road. Maybe JARVIS had been right thirty hours ago, when he’d suggested Tony got some rest. Sure was coming to bite him in the ass now.

Well. He was here now- he might as well get in a small amount of rest before the sun rose.

Leaning forward, he braced his forearms over the wheel and then sunk his head into the crook of them, letting his heavy eyelids droop and shut completely. The overly loud rock music was nothing more than background noise in his ears, and he could already feel the first pull of sleep begin to wrap itself around his mind-

 

“Sir, are you oka- wait, _Tony?”_

 

Jerking upright rapidly at the sound of that familiar deep voice, he blinked in surprise and turned his head to the window. Above him, Officer Steve Rogers was leaning over the car in concern and surprise, staring at Tony as if he’d just grown a second head. “What the _hell_ are you doing at the side of the road playing Bohemian Rhapsody loud enough to wake the dead?” He asked incredulously.

Tony zoned back in to the sound of echoing voices all screaming ‘ _Galileo!’_ obnoxiously loudly. He blinked again. “Oh.”

“Tony?” Steve sounded concerned now. “Are you okay?”

“Mm,” Tony nodded his head and rubbed his eyes, hand fumbling for the volume and turning down the classic but also slightly grating music. “Sorry. I was just… catching some sleep. Tired.”

Steve shook his head. “Why were you out at this time driving if you’re so…” he broke off and then widened his eyes, cocking his head. “Were you coming out to see me?” He asked.

Tony sighed, leaning back and smiling. “I was going to woo you with my seductive charm,” he said, the words jumbling into one another in their haste. “You know how it is. I’m Tony Stark- I don’t need sleep. But you didn’t show up yesterday. I didn’t go to sleep, I was too busy plotting. And then… it’s been 70 hours? Ish? I’m kinda tired.”

Steve paused, trying to process the stilted and pretty much nonsensical words that fell from Tony’s mouth. Then the tiniest, most tentative smile began to crawl over his face. It was lovely. “You were trying to woo me?” He asked slowly.

Tony just nodded. He was too tired to think of any other bullshit. “With my seductive charm,” he clarified.

Steve didn’t say anything for a moment- but then he laughed. A surprised little snort that sounded absolutely wonderful. “You’re mad,” he said with a shake of his head. “You’re absolutely… so what? You haven’t slept for three days because you kept trying to catch me?”

“Pretty much?”

“Oh God.” Steve held his head in his hands and chuckled, head still shaking back and forth. Tony was unsure of the signals he was receiving here- was Steve happy or despairing?”

“I’d say a little bit of both,” Steve told him, and oh- Tony must have been talking out loud. “Tony Stark, you are… absolutely ridiculous. Do you know how _stupid_ that was? Driving whilst sleep deprived is completely idiotic. You could easily have fallen asleep at the wheel, and no amount of Freddie Mercury would’ve helped _that_.” He sighed, and then stepped back, hand going for the handle of Tony’s door. “I’m going to have to ask you to exist the vehicle, sir,”

Uh oh. That never boded well. Tony looked up at him in concern, trying to discern whether or not Steve was frowning or smiling. “Uhhhh- why?” He asked curiously.

Steve folded his arms, pulling open the door and then gesturing Tony out of it. “Just get out of the damn car, Tony,” he said through a fond sigh. His eyes were twinkling under the half-light of dawn again, and Tony thought about how beautiful he looked. God, Steve could do so much better than some shitty nightshift on a road no one even gave a fuck about. He should be a model. Or- or an artist. Tony hadn’t seen any of his stuff, but he bet that he was good. He had the hands for it. And the temperament. Yeah- he’d make a call to Pepper, have her introduced to Steve, and then he’d see what they could-

“Tony?” Steve asked, waving a hand in front of Tony’s face, and he jerked a little in surprise, coming back to the present.

“Right,” he said, unbuckling his seatbelt. “Out the car. Got it.”

With a small stumble, he slipped off the black leather seats and then stood upright, straightening out his collar self-consciously as he did so. Steve looked at him as if he were holding back a smile, and then he took Tony by the arm with gentle fingers. His touch was warm, skin soft. “Come on,” he said slowly, beginning to pull Tony around the hood of the car.

Tony frowned, looking up at Steve in confusion. “Where are we going?” He asked, searching around them for a sign. Steve just shook his head and turned his head again, trying to hide the smile that Tony knew was on his face.

Well. At least he was making the guy laugh, he supposed.

Steve walked them around to the other side of the car, and then opened the door of the shotgun seat, one hand still around Tony’s bicep. He made a gesture, and then soft hands moved from his arm to his head, pushing down gently. “In you go,” he said in amusement, and Tony obeyed, ducking under the roof of the car and then plopping clumsily into the passenger seat. Steve shut the door with a soft click and then straightened up, walking back around the hood until he got to the driver’s seat. Without hesitation, he slipped in and put his hands on the wheel before turning to Tony. “I’m taking you home,” he said with a smile. “Any arguments will be considered an obstruction of Justice and I _will_ arrest you.”

Tony blinked at him as Steve stared, completely serious except for the twinkle in his lovely blue eyes. Eventually, Tony just grinned, leaning forward against the dash and winking. “Only if you cuff me first.”

At that, a wonderful pink blush crawled up the side of Steve’s face, and his hands spasmed against the steering wheel. “Careful what you wish for, Stark,” he muttered, before pressing a foot down on the accelerate and then pulling out onto the road. His eyes widened in surprise, and he whistled under his breath. “Oh, wow,” he looked at the dashboard, awed, “this thing has a hell’uva kick.”

Tony smiled, turning his body so that he was facing Steve on the seat. “ _That’s_ what it is,” he clicked his fingers clumsily. “Brooklyn. I fucking _knew_ it was Brooklyn.”

When Steve turned to him, Tony waved a hand at Steve’s face. “Your accent,” he mumbled in response, “it’s a Brooklyn accent. I’ve been trying to discern it ever since I met you.”

Steve laughed again, and Tony felt the car speed up a little more on the road. He glanced at the dash- any faster, and it was going to be Steve who was breaking the limit, which sure would be fucking ironic. “Why didn’t you just ask?”

“Well, that’d be no fun, would it?”

Steve shook his head again, and when he glanced over to Tony, his gaze was remarkably soft. He opened his mouth a fraction, words on the tip of his tongue- but nothing was said. Steve closed his mouth again, simply sighing. “You can nap in the car if you want,” he said, “in fact, I recommend it.”

Tony didn’t want to. He wanted to look at Officer Steve Rogers for as long as physically possible. “’M’Good,” he said, hitching his legs up and then resting them on the dash- or at least, until Steve leaned over and slapped them off. Tony glared at him as the man just looked out onto the road and hid another smile. “You do realise this is my car, right?”

“Your very expensive car. Anyway,  I'm the driver for the night. Shotguns have no authority over car control.”

“That’s complete bullshit.”

“Check the highway code, I learned that at Police Academy.”

Tony spluttered. “I’m pretty sure they don’t teach that at Police Academy, Steve.”

“Out of the two of us, which one has _been_ to Police Academy?” Steve challenged with a raised eyebrow, before nodding resolutely when Tony said nothing. “See. Your silence means I’m right.”

Tony just rolled his eyes and flicked Steve behind the ear. His heart felt warm and full. It was an unusual feeling- then again, Steve was an unusual person. An anomalous. Tony didn’t know why he had the effect he did on Tony, but whatever the reason, Tony was falling for it. Hard. Steve was… great.

Despite his best efforts, he must have drifted off sometime during the ride, because the next time he opened his eyes, Steve was in the process of getting out of the car and walking over to Tony’s side. Once more, dawn was just beginning to throw some light on the world, and the milky light made Steve’s face glow like an angel’s. Tony could look at him all day. He watched all the way as Steve moved over to him, and when he opened Tony’s door, he smiled.

“Home sweet home,” Steve said. “Come on. Let’s get you inside.”

Tony unbuckled once more and stumbled out of the car with all the grace of what he could only really describe as a demented seal. Steve didn’t seem to mind though- he was still smiling. Tony would take that as a win. And of course; when Steve wrapped his hand tentatively around Tony’s waist and pulled him a little closer in order to ‘help him get inside’, Tony decided that yes, his wooing had definitely worked.

Leaning in further to Steve’s warm side, Tony felt his eyes begin to droop once more. He really was exhausted. And Steve was comfy. Like a big, muscly pillow. Tony would definitely like to fall asleep on Steve at some point. Hopefully soon.

He heard JARVIS greeting them quietly as they walked in, and quickly explained the basics of him to Steve before he could freak out about it. Steve seemed thoroughly impressed by it, and his hand squeezed against Tony’s side. Tony got the feeling that Steve was going to be _very_ good for his ego.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been grateful for getting a speeding ticket before,” Tony mumbled against his shoulder, whilst trying to force his eyes to remain open.

He heard Steve’s laughter vibrating through his throat. “I don’t think I’ve ever been grateful for _giving out_ a speeding ticket before,” he responded softly. “Now- I am just wandering aimlessly through your building right now, so you mind telling me where your room is?

Tony waved a vague hand, allowing JARVIS to take over and lead Steve toward his room on the other side of the mansion. As they walked through, Tony watched Steve’s fascinated gaze roam through every art piece that Pepper had made him put up on the walls. To him, they just looked like mismatched splotches of paint, but apparently to Steve they meant something else entirely, because the man seemed enthralled by them.

“You can have ‘em, if y’want,” Tony mumbled into his skin, looking up. “Prob’ly appreciate ‘em more than me.”

Steve spluttered, shaking his head. “Tony, these are way too expensive. They’re beautiful. They’re… true art. They might belong in your mansion, but they sure as hell don’t belong in my apartment.

Tony scoffed. “ _You’re_ beautiful art, and you’re living in your apartment. They’d fit right in.”

Steve froze for a moment, and then he guffawed loudly. He turned down to look at Tony with a huge smile and pink-coloured cheeks, and Tony wanted to kiss them so bad. “Wow. That was smooth, Stark.”

“See- totally got the wooing thing down. You just… throw me off sometimes.” Tony pouted, pushing his hair away from his eyes. “But I am totally cool. Really. Like, I’m talking a completely suave, professional dude. I can charm the pants of a rattlesnake, that’s me-“

“You just stayed awake for three days in order to try and ask me on a date,” Steve told him wryly. “I found you drooling over your steering wheel and playing Queen at 4 in the morning.”

Tony didn’t really have anything to say to that, so he settled for simply shoving Steve into the wall. Which, of course, failed- Steve was built like a brick. He actually ended up falling back himself, stumbling over his own feet at the momentum gained from trying to push Steve away. It was okay though, because before he could land on his ass, a quick pair of hands grabbed his waist and held him in place. Tony’s arms wrapped instinctively around Steve’s neck, and then suddenly they were almost nose to nose, Steve’s beautiful blue eyes staring intently at Tony’s own for a moment, before dropping helplessly down to his mouth.

Tony licked his lips, and then before he could even process it, Steve had spun them back upright and had Tony pinned against the wall, one hand braced above Tony’s head, and the other pressing down on his chest firmly. He was still looking at Tony’s mouth.

“Please can I kiss you?” Steve asked quietly, because of _course_ Steve was the type of person to ask that sort of question in a situation like this. It wasn’t exactly like Tony could have been any more obvious, save for painting _‘I am nuts for Steve Rogers’_ on his forehead- but apparently that wasn’t good enough for Mr. Morality over there.

“Go for it, Officer,” Tony said with a grin, and then before he could even take another breath, Steve’s mouth was on his, hot and heavy and absolutely delicious. Tony felt a big hand wrap around his neck, and his own fingers curled across Steve’s chest, felt all that glorious muscle under his digits, _wow_ -

Steve made a low noise in the back of his throat and pressed Tony further into the wall. Tony breathed in sharply, tracing the seam of Steve’s lips with his tongue and then barely holding back a whine as Steve suddenly bent down and hefted him up into his arms, hands curled around Tony’s ass.

_Oh wow._

It was only when Steve pushed Tony against the door and then fumbled it open that Tony realized they’d reached his room, and immediately his excitement rocketed. So, Steve counted this as the third date, huh? Brilliant. Tony was absolutely, utterly down for that.

Steve walked them forward a few more steps, his mouth working against Tony’s own with boundless enthusiasm, and once he’d reached the center of the room, he threw Tony on the bed as if he didn’t weigh a thing- and okay, yeah, this time Tony groaned. So fucking sue him, Steve was strong as _shit_ -

He was rather surprised, of course, when instead of covering Tony’s body with his own, he yanked at the blanket at the bottom of Tony’s bed, and then placed that over Tony instead.

 

He stared at it for a moment, and then at Steve- breathing slightly heavily and with dark eyes, but a shit-eating grin on his face- and then it clicked.

 

“Oh you teasing _bastard_ ,” Tony hissed, starting to sit up- but Steve pushed him back down again, his hand firm against Tony’s shoulder. “I cannot believe- no, this is not allowed-“

“You need to sleep, Tony,” Steve told him through a smile, leaning closer as he whispered in Tony’s ear, “now get some, or I swear I will cuff you to the bed. And not even in the sexy way.”

Tony paused, before cocking an eyebrow and tucking his head against Steve’s cheek. “Darling, there is _no way_ I will not find that at least a little bit sexy, come on.”

Steve just rolled his eyes. His hand was still running along Tony’s shoulder, and it _was_ pretty soothing- and now that he was lying horizontally in his bed, he could admit that his eyes were beginning to get heavy again.

Dammit.

“I hate you,” Tony muttered, already feeling the pull of sleep begin just under his eyelids. “Hate you so much.”

Steve chuckled, hand moving to stroke though Tony’s hair, which was the worst decision, really, fuck, that just felt _even better_ \- “No you don’t,” he whispered, leaning over and then pressing a soft kiss to Tony’s forehead. “Get some sleep, Tony. Then we’ll talk, okay?”

Tony grumbled incoherently, pushing his head into Steve’s touch. His eyes shut of their own accord, and he savoured the feeling of hands in his hair whilst it lasted, because at this rate he knew he was going to be out any second- _God,_ Steve was good, and he’d only known Tony for a handful of days, what the fuck-

 

“Goodnight, Tony,” Steve said softly, and that was the last thing that Tony got to hear before he clocked out entirely, drifting off into a well-needed sleep.

 

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

 

He woke up slowly, to sunlight streaming through the windows behind him.

His face was smushed into the pillow uncomfortably, and his hair covered his eyes. With a few blinks, he nudged it out of the way and then opened his eyes painfully, squinting against the brightness of the room.

He felt… strangely well-rested. Huh.

Sitting up slowly, he yawned and then palmed a hand over his face. It was a beautiful day outside, and he could see the bright blue waves crash into the beach down below him when he peered out of the window.

When he checked the clock on the bedside table, however, he had to do a double-take.

13:09.  
What in the fuck?

“JARVIS?” Tony asked incredulously, “have I just slept through the entire morning?”

“It appears so, sir,” His AI replied wryly, and Tony choked, because no way, that never happened. He was an early riser and late sleeper- he must have been absolutely exhausted for him to sleep for that long.

A second later, however, everything from last night came rushing back, and he gasped audibly into the empty room.

Steve. Steve had taken him home after he’d found him asleep by the side of the road. Steve had _kissed him,_ Shit, Tony could remember how good that had felt. And then he’d been thrown on the bed and somehow bamboozled into falling asleep, though God knows how, not when Steve had been pressing up against him like that.

“Is he still here?” Tony got out of bed hurriedly, looking around the room as if expecting Steve to pop out from behind the curtains or something.

“I’m afraid he left a few minutes after you fell asleep, Sir,” JARVIS responded, and Tony stopped, sagging in the middle of the room. Oh. Right. “He did, however, leave something for you on the dressing table, if you would like to see it.”

Tony paused, and then turned to the piece of furniture on his left. Walking over to it, he looked around for something out of place, and found it pretty sharpish. He noticed, with a huff of surprised laughter, that it was the speeding ticket Steve had given him the first time they’d met. Tony had been keeping it on the dash of his car ever since, and Steve must have spotted it whilst he’d been driving Tony home.

Picking it up with two delicate fingers, he held it up to the light and then saw that there was writing on the back of it. He turned it around, and then felt his heart speed up at the sight of what could only be Steve’s phone number, sprawled out in pencil. Underneath it was a short note:

_‘Sorry for leaving you hanging last night. Call me when you feel a little bit more alive- hell, I’ll probably go over the limit in order to get to you faster._

_65 is a shit speed anyway. Especially with a car like that’_

 

Tony burst out laughing. “JARVIS?” he asked into the room.

“Yes, sir?”

“Remind me to take Steve to a racetrack for our first date.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed, comments and kudos are much appreciated! :))


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